For Peace? (4)
In any situation, I don't like gambling.
'Gambling is best when it's just money on the line.'
I don't hate gambling. Poker or horse racing—those were among the imperial entertainments I enjoyed most, and I had a real talent for them. But it's only fun when the stakes are limited to money. I can't stand it when lives are on the line. Especially if it involves Naria or Astasia.
That's why I always had insurance. A safety net the enemy couldn't spot. A trap primed to spring the moment they tried anything funny.
'I can only use it once, but that's all I need.'
I'd hidden my father. No one would ever suspect I'd conceal a Sword Master—let alone my own father.
Number 18 had underestimated me badly. Whether they thought I'd earned their trust or not, trying to assassinate me so casually was a fatal mistake.
"Father."
"You could've just saved yourself."
"Killing a child before adulthood disrupts the dreams."
Thanks to that, I'd been rescued mid-fall by my father, who'd scaled the 50-meter wall.
"Assassins targeting the Gibraltar heir. Shall we spare them?"
"Of course. We need them alive to extract information."
Number 18 included.
"When Noir was kidnapped, you killed the culprits outright."
Number 18 had passed out.
"If I hadn't helped, you wouldn't have let me fall in the first place—you'd have killed me on the spot."
"Yes. Instead of passing out like this, they'd have been my human cushion. Heh."
The moment he caught both me and Number 18 on landing, Father struck her solar plexus, knocking her out cold.
"I had it all planned. Thanks to that, we captured a spy and assassin alive."
"True. At first, I thought it was some harebrained scheme, but now we're making progress."
Father removed his gauntlet and pressed a finger to the unconscious Number 18's neck.
"...Her heartbeat's abnormal. Around... 170? 180 bpm?"
"She must've taken some drug."
No hiding it now.
"Probably smuggled in from the Empire. Something like a 'doping agent' that amps up physical abilities temporarily."
"Like what knights sometimes use before jousts?"
"Exactly."
I hadn't planned to hide it anyway—this was the perfect chance to loop Father in.
"Smells faintly like Somnus pollen, though."
"Smells?"
"Her breath reeks of Somnus."
"...Somnus as an ingredient?"
"Probably. My nose for floral scents is uncanny—especially Somnus."
Three years of nonstop Somnus flower munching had paid off. Would it work?
"...I can't smell a thing."
"Want to try chewing a Somnus petal after dinner, Father?"
"No thanks. Somnus, though? I'll take your word for it."
Whew.
"If the drug retains even a trace of Somnus scent, we might be able to produce something like it."
Three years of daily Somnus chewing, brewing, and devouring had smoothed that over nicely.
"...We'll discuss disposing of the Somnus flowers in the orphanage basement when we get back."
"No, Father."
Not that.
"Shouldn't we research them more?"
"What?"
"This girl held me tight and hurled herself off a wall. She got that strong somehow."
I gripped Number 18's slender wrist.
"She grabbed my collar and wouldn't let go, clinging like glue. I'm just a kid with kid-level strength, but even a Beginner Knight couldn't pry her off."
"You want us to use drugs?"
"We don't know the side effects, but having them as insurance can't hurt, right?"
"...Our mana herb research just turned into forced physical enhancement agents."
Father sighed, then nodded firmly.
"War's closing in, and who knows what'll come next. I'll allow it."
Father grabbed the unconscious Number 18 by the collar and hoisted her up.
"For now—"
Suddenly, he looked up toward the gate.
"Damn—"
And then, a sharp bang echoed.
"Shit—"
"It's fine, Father."
He leaped back toward the wall, but I clung to Number 18—using her to block him.
"It's all accounted for."
"You don't mean...?"
"Wanna bet? One assassin shows up, but turns out there were three all along."
Three Shadows with Silver Dust. With me falling from the wall, the other two must've moved too.
They couldn't kill a Gibraltar, but snatching the imperial granddaughter amid the chaos? That'd open her spot for them.
"...Optimistic. I was already planning to grill Erwin later."
"Even if three Shadows slipped in—"
"Nine."
"......Pardon?"
"You still can't hear them, huh."
Father gripped Number 18's collar and my hand tight.
"See for yourself."
"......!!"
He kicked off the ground hard.
"Wai—"
I bit my tongue mid-word.
Carrying two people—one on each side—he bounded between wall and gorge, scaling 50 meters in seconds to land atop the ramparts.
"Tch...."
No time to register the faint blood taste.
"...Whoa."
Thud, thwack-thwack, smack-smack. Flesh pounding, metallic blood scent, acrid Silver Dust tang—my head spun.
"This is..."
"They expected resistance, but not from all nine."
Father ruffled my hair and pointed ahead.
"Those two taking a beating. Abnormal heartbeats too. Drugged."
Father had zeroed in on the Silver Dust users instantly. Numbers 9 and 27.
Like 18, the three eldest were Empire Shadows who'd ingested Silver Dust orally for a boost.
But.
"Son."
"Yes, Father."
"Did you know about both sides?"
"...I figured it was safe enough to come alone."
Their current state? Miserable.
Bang! Baaaang!
A golden-haired, green-eyed girl hammered the trigger at the fainted Number 9. Golden magic missiles from her musket nailed her forehead dead-on.
"Guh, urk—let, let go!"
"No way! You'll just choke me again!"
A white-haired girl wrenched Number 27's arms back, stomping one foot down.
"If anything happened to His Highness... Ah?!"
Astasia, pinning 27, spotted me and recoiled in shock.
"G-Grey! Th-this is, um...!"
"Opening!!"
As Astasia stumbled in panic, 27 surged up to pounce.
"Die—!"
Claws raking for her throat—
Crack!!
A full musket swing smashed her head aside. She crumpled.
"Hah, heugh."
Not the barrel—the steel grip.
"......Hoo."
Naria, gripping the barrel two-handed for the swing, glanced at Astasia.
"Heh."
A faint smile. She slung the musket inverted over her shoulder.
"Well. My lord Count. You've seen an unseemly sight."
"......."
"Keep today's events our little secret."
Naria bowed lightly to Father; he nodded grimly, face sour.
"Oh. And Sir Grey."
"Yes, Princess Naria."
"These ones here..."
She indicated the downed Whites.
"They attacked me and Astasia, so I defended myself."
All swollen like they'd eaten fists, shoeprints on solar plexuses or guts.
"These ones—"
"Th-thank you! Naria!!"
Blushing furiously, Astasia bolted to hug Naria from behind.
"You took them all down for me! I'm so touched!"
"......?"
"N-Naria...!"
Astasia clutched Naria's arm desperately; Naria tilted her head, puzzled.
"No, I only took down this one—"
"Thank you for saving me, Princess! Mwah!"
Naria tried to speak, but Astasia grabbed her head and planted cheek kisses.
I saw it. Pretending to kiss, one hand clamped Naria's mouth.
"Son."
Father whispered, barely audible to me alone, ultra-cautious.
"Those girls weren't hit by muskets—"
"Wow, Father. Impressive, right?"
I stepped forward, grinning wide at him.
"The Princess handles a musket like a pro. Taking down eight? Incredible."
"......."
"I'll ask the Chairwoman for a musket manual—no, a brand-new one. Custom for Princess Naria."
"Hm."
As I spoke, glancing at Naria—
"...Margrave Gibraltar, I have a request."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Keep today's events between us."
"Naturally, Your Highness."
Naria stepped up as princess.
"And these."
She patted her musket.
"Say I took them down."
"Wooow! Naria, you're amazing—!"
Astasia seal-clapped beside her, beaming.
"......Hah. Really."
Finally.
One excuse—not quite an excuse—for the Empire's sake.
'No way they'd send an imperial granddaughter into enemy territory without backup.'
Not praising the enemy, but the Crown Prince isn't that sloppy.
'Not a discard—she's prime talent to seduce a Gibraltar.'
Daughter or not, Astasia's value as Erwin's leash and Gibraltar bait meant protection. That man wouldn't send her naked.
"Son. This..."
"Father."
I turned to him, nodding big.
"Sometimes, a man looks the other way for a lady's sake. That's manners, right?"
"......."
"You do it for Mother."
"......You."
Father's gaze shook briefly.
"...Yeah. You're right."
Resigned, he ruffled my hair lightly.
"You really are Crimson Gibraltar's son."
"Obviously."
* * *
After loading all nine Whites—no, assassins—into the carriage.
"The Empire's granddaughter, huh. Did Erwin know?"
"Ah, probably not. They told me it was 'escorts'..."
"Erwin got backstabbed too."
"......."
Father grasped Astasia's revealed identity and the Whites' origins.
"Did you know they were half-sisters, Your Highness?"
"Pl-please, speak casually!"
"Did you, Ellie?"
"Y-you're quick. Yes. Different sides, but I thought family..."
Astasia hung her head. Fists trembling, biting her lip.
"Father. Astasia's blameless."
I stepped in front of her.
"Grey Gibraltar."
"I'm serious. This was their rash impulse, like spooked horses bolting."
"Rash?"
"They saw a perfect chance to eliminate her—their kid logic."
I sliced a hand across my throat.
"They never expected you. Misjudged, hit rock bottom. Now we use them properly."
"Use them."
"Yes. Starting with this."
I pulled out a half-empty paper envelope.
"The remnants. To analyze, trace backers—we need them alive."
"Planning a basement cell?"
"Three, yes. The other six..."
The ones "hit" by Astasia's—no, Naria's musket, aside.
"The three who attacked outright? Request Morgania's cooperation. The rest? Train as maids. Our Shadow agents."
"Morgania."
"Yes."
Father scowled.
"Why not kill them?"
"Killing kids brings bad karma, you said."
"Mercy can mean death sometimes."
Who doesn't know? Letar's torture roots trace to Morgania.
"Swordsmanship to Gibraltar. Espionage to Morgania. Specialists handle best."
Sending Shadows to Morgania? Carmen the Queen Consort takes over.
"Personally, I want to research this."
I shook the refined Silver Dust packet from Number 27.
"Handled right, it could be a boon for you too, Father."
"For me?"
"Yes. Well, tricky to explain."
Refined Silver Dust's base use: incense for free dreams.
"Boosts assassins' bodies, speeds blood flow, right?"
Oral or injected: pure physical surge.
How do I know? Clinical trials and body memories linger.
"Thing is."
I glanced at Naria and Astasia.
"Sounds healthy, but awkward to describe."
"......."
"Or."
A hint for Father.
"Infuses whole body with vigor, erodes reason."
"...Worthy of research."
What did Father think? Past destroyer of our house? Present fix for his issues? Or—
"Research freely. This might decide Gibraltar's future."
"Yes."
A new future, built on all that.
"I'll look into it."
I couldn't predict Father's vision.
"For Gibraltar's future."
But surely—like this bright sky—a clear, sunny day. I believed that.